Jobless rate stays steady in October
October’s unemployment rate in Clark County stayed unchanged from September at 6.7 percent, but is two full points higher than October 2007.
In the last six months, the county gained 400 jobs, reported the Washington State Employment Security Department. Construction and manufacturing lost the most with construction down 200 jobs, layoffs at Columbia Machine and RS Medical and three planned week-long shutdowns at Linear Technology.
Sectors that added jobs were financial services, professional and business services, health care, hospitality and retail.
Electrix takes green award
Vancouver-based Electrix earned a green honorable mention from the Northwest Construction Consumer Council in November for its work at a tire processing facility in Boardman, Ore.
The electrical contracting company handled installation of all electrical components of the industrial facility, owned by Bellevue-based Reklaim Technologies Inc.
The facility is expected to produce 90 percent fewer greenhouse emissions than current tire disposal methods, such as burning.
New Edge earns innovator award
Vancouver-based New Edge Networks received a Communications Innovator Award from Chicago-based New Paradigm Resources Group and Pipeline magazine.
The award named New Edge the Most Innovative Competitive Carrier, recognizing its development of the industry’s first network service that lets business clients tag and prioritize data traffic on a DSL system with up to five classes of service.
New Edge is the business communications unit of Atlanta-based EarthLink Inc.
Woodland port shrinks budget
The Port of Woodland adopted its 2009 budget Nov. 24. The port commission approved a decrease in collection of levy revenue by $26,739.93, down about 5 cents per $1,000 of tax assessed valuation.
NFIB awaits small biz ballots
The National Federation of Independent Business will mail ballots to its members in December for input on legislative priorities.
Details are available from Washington State Director Troy Nichols at 360-786-8675 or www.nfib.com.
Comcast boosts Internet speeds
Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. will offer faster Internet service to local businesses and homes in December.
With the launch of wideband DOCSIS 3.0 in Southwest Washington and Oregon, Comcast will provide download speeds of up to 50 megabytes per second, which would allow a high-definition movie to be downloaded in 16 minutes.
New business customers would pay $99.95 to $189.95 per month for the services. Current business customers will get free upgrades to as much as 16 Mbps.
The company anticipates the fiber optic wideband service will eventually allow downloads of 160 Mbps.
County suspends computer recycling
Clark County’s computer reuse and recycling program will have suspended collections and operations Nov. 26.
The county’s collection centers will process equipment on hand in December. Its four drop-off sites will end collections on a staggered schedule through Nov. 30.
In January, Washington will require certain electronics manufacturers to support a take-back recycling system, making more drop-off locations available, according to the county.
Aetna adds Legacy to network
Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Health Management added Portland-based Legacy Health System to its commercial health plans Oct. 1.
The agreement includes all of Legacy’s hospitals, clinics, hospice programs and laboratories.
Legacy has 8,500 employees at five hospitals, including Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital in Vancouver.
Aetna serves about 37 million insurance customers.
County seeks health advisers
The Clark County Board of Health is accepting applications for two spots on the Public Health Advisory Council.
One seat is open to veterinarians and the other to Clark County residents who represent consumers of public health services. The council meets the third Tuesday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Center for Community Health in Vancouver.
Applicants can submit a resume and letter of interest by Dec. 5 to Jennifer Clark, Board of Clark County Commissioners, P.O. Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000; or by fax to 360-397-6058 or by email to jennifer.clark@clark.wa.gov.
